indonesia and singapore -- n's pictures

oh b and i had a great trip this summer to our beloved indonesia. we went back to central java where had lived 3 years ago. we got to see favorite people, places, and eat very good food!

 b was so tired. it is a long, long flight from the us to central java. in fact, it's several flights.

 flying from jakarta to solo.

 we went out for some fresh durian in solo.

 you just pick it up and eat it!

 pasar triwindu.

 the hotel we stayed at (at the paragon mall) was affordable, right by our old kampung, and had really nice breakfasts.

 bika ambon!

 those are little fish on the rice.

 never a truer statement said on an engrish shirt.

 b worked with this guy to ham some cin cin (rings) made.

 our favorite cumi-cumi restuarant. and look at that delicious jus alpukat.

 this fruit tasted like a paw paw.

 those are huge sticks of cinnamon.

 indonesia was decked out for its hari kemerdekaan (independence day). sadly, we missed the actual independence day, but we were there in august, which was close enough for lots of red and white decorations to be out.

 we're riding on a becak.

 there was a huge international gamalan festival going on in solo while we were there. we walked by to listen, but (as seems totally natural in indonesia) became friends with the musicians. several wanted to take pictures with us and even let us play their instruments.

 b was very popular.

 our sahabat, ibu danny. she cooked several meals for us while we were there--all of our favorites: rendang, gulai, nasi goreng, tempeh, fruits, etc. it was so, so good. and she is so good to us. it was wonderful to see her and her son and daughter who live in solo.

 our hotel lobby.

 sadly, we had to leave solo. here we are at the solo airport waiting to fly to jakarta. we ate chocolate for breakfast.

 we had a really nice time in jakarta. we got to see some folks brian knew from previous visits (which was so interesting), went to tamarin city to buy batik and tenung, ate at a padang restaurant (and had good rendang), and went to this amazing textile museum. the following pictures of batik/ikat are from the museum.

 b smelling the flowers. the pieces at the museum were so gorgeous. we listened to a lecture on ikat in sulawesi too. unfortunately, though, we had to leave.

 we were going to meet up with another friend, but she couldn't make it. so we took a bajai to tamarin city.

 here we are at the jakarta airport. unfortunately, we had really bad sate and jus alpukat.

 then we flew to singapore. i finished reading the oddfits (which takes place almost entirely in singapore) right after we got there.

 the morning after we got into singapore, b and i went on a tour with the other folks there for his conference.it was a really cool tour--we got to see several neat temples and markets. and they took us out for really good peranakan food.

oh durian!

 government apartments. that's how normal people can afford to house a place to live in singapore.

 this panel was actually the cover of our guidebook.

 es cendol! this was probably our favorite discovery while in singapore.

 the next day, while b was at his conference, i went out to explore the city-state. i took the subway and went to this museum. it was really cool.

 i have to admit, i really came to love ganesha.

 look at this gorgeous batik!

 this pig's head is a serving platter--like a big gravy boat.

 wayangs.

 i walked along the quay and had lunch there.

 unfortunately, i ordered soup. it was tasty enough, but it was so hot outside that soup didn't really hit the spot.

 

 these were interesting things i spotted in chinese herbal/remedies shops.

 chinatown.

 a weird upside down fat-headed statue. i liked seeing this.

 kue pelangi!

 this is a durian-decorated (and i'm sure tasting) cake.

 oh, i found an indonesian woman in chinatown selling indonesian kue. i got to talk to her in indonesian and eat these fun treats.

 pallets!

 the next day, i went into little india (while b was at his conference). our hotel was right across the street from it. oh my goodness, the colors, the fabrics, the patterns...a lady like me could just go nuts there. i loved it!

 srikaya!

 sleepy plants.

 i made my way over to the muslim section of town.

 sigh...

 notice the star wars in there.

 a nice reminder of our carson mccullers.

 the masjid.

 i got very hot and thirsty. so i stopped at place and got a coconut milk shake. it tasted heavenly. and the place i sat in had ac, which felt heavenly.

 i found an indonesian shop. they were selling some cirebon batik. next time i got back to indonesia, i want to get some of this. i used to not really like this motif, but then i realized it represents clouds, and i like that. it's really grown on me.

 these are the flat horse puppet-type things that are used in ceremonies in, i think, sumba. we saw them in the ring of fire movie. it was again fun to talk to someone in indonesian. the woman who worked there was from java and very nice.

 b always loves cupcakes.

 i came upon this little area in my wanderings and thought this looked the most like indonesia i had seen thus far while i'd been in singapore.

 i went to an indian culture musuem. 

 the taller briefcase reminded me of my dad's briefcase when i was a kid.

 looking down at little india.

 i went to the indian hawker mall, and got an es cendol and some kue. so, so good. and so, so cheap!

 i liked it so much, i brought b back there later that day.

 we did some exploring together in little india. i love this picture of b.

 the next day, we went out into the wilds of singapore. we went to a national park and did some hiking. sadly, these tigers are no longer.

 although it would have been scary to run into one in the forest.

 that night, we bought some fruit at the indian hawker mall and went out to the ocean front on a nice evening walk and ate our fruit.

 i miss those good, good buah naga.

 we also got some rambutans.

we had a really fun time in singapore. and we love indonesia so much. we can't wait to pulang ke indonesia.